News

  1. Planetary Science

    4 surprising things we just learned about Jupiter

    Polar cyclones, surprisingly deep atmosphere and a fluid mass spinning as a rigid body are among the latest discoveries at Jupiter.

    By
  2. Anthropology

    Humans don’t get enough sleep. Just ask other primates.

    Short, REM-heavy sleep bouts separate humans from other primates, scientists find. Sleeping on the ground may have a lot to do with it.

    By
  3. Ecosystems

    Pollution regulations help Chesapeake Bay seagrass rebound

    Regulations that have reduced nitrogen runoff into the Chesapeake Bay are driving the recovery of underwater vegetation.

    By
  4. Astronomy

    Massive stellar flare may have fried Earth’s nearest exoplanet

    A massive flare made Proxima Centauri 1,000 times brighter in 10 seconds, dimming hopes that its planet may be habitable.

    By
  5. Artificial Intelligence

    In the future, an AI may diagnose eye problems

    Artificial intelligence could help diagnose blinding eye diseases and other illnesses, speeding up medical care in areas where specialists might be scarce.

    By
  6. Physics

    Knotted structures called skyrmions seem to mimic ball lightning

    Skyrmions in a quantum state of matter have something surprising in common with ball lightning — linked magnetic fields.

    By
  7. Chemistry

    Extreme cold is no match for a new battery

    A rechargeable battery that works at –70° C could be used in some of the coldest places on Earth or other planets.

    By
  8. Earth

    Early land plants led to the rise of mud

    New research suggests early land plants called bryophytes, which include modern mosses, helped shape Earth’s surface by creating clay-rich river deposits.

    By
  9. Animals

    It’s official: Termites are just cockroaches with a fancy social life

    On their latest master list of arthropods, U.S. entomologists have finally declared termites to be a kind of cockroach.

    By
  10. Health & Medicine

    Human skin bacteria have cancer-fighting powers

    Strains of a bacteria that live on human skin make a compound that suppressed tumor growth in mice.

    By
  11. Microbes

    A new way to make bacteria glow could simplify TB screening

    A new dye to stain tuberculosis bacteria in coughed-up mucus and saliva could expedite TB diagnoses and drug-resistance tests.

    By
  12. Cosmology

    Here’s when the universe’s first stars may have been born

    The first stars lit the cosmos by 180 million years after the Big Bang, radio observations suggest.

    By